


One Month

by gertiemcfuzz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Mistaken for Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5610832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gertiemcfuzz/pseuds/gertiemcfuzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After hearing about a rumor that they're a couple, Cat and Kara's work relationship begins to suffer, so they come up with an agreement hoping to get things back on track.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This totally took a turn that I wasn't expecting so instead of being a one-shot, it'll be a two-shot.

Carter Grant was pacing inside his room, trying to figure out what to do, he was sure that his mom was going to be home soon, and he was even more sure he was going to be in deep trouble as soon as she walked through the front door.

He may have told a little bit of a lie…or at least it was supposed to be a little lie. He just wanted to get the bullies off of his back but somehow it spread around fast, and before he knew it the teachers at school knew too and were talking about it. It had been a few weeks since the words left his mouth, and at the time he didn’t think too much of it, just glad to have a little peace from the teasing.

Except a few days ago, a teacher mentioned it, and he started to realize that maybe it had been a mistake, but he was still sure that he could contain the spread. Outside of teacher’s conferences, his mom didn’t really have a lot of contact with his teachers, he was a good kid, all the adults loved him, the only time they’d had to call home was when he got stung by that bee and had an allergic reaction.

He heard the door click open and suddenly wished he had a bee.

He waited, and soon heard the clicking of his mom’s heels on the hardwood floors in the hallway, her pace leisurely, something anybody else might interpret as relaxed. Carter knew better, Carter knew this was bad. Those were the kind of footsteps that suggested his mom had already settled into her calm-anger, the very worst stage.

The footsteps stopped right outside his room, then came the two knocks, exactly one second apart. “Carter.” She called through the door, her voice low and cool, “Come out to the living room, I have something to discuss with you.” As soon as the last word had left her mouth, the footsteps started again, moving in the direction they’d came.

He took a second to get his breathing under control, Kara had been teaching him a few techniques. There was a night a few weeks earlier when his mom had to work late, so Kara picked him up from school and they hung out at his mom’s office while they waited for her to get done. One minute they’d been talking about the new Ghostbuster’s movie and then he was suddenly having a panic attack. It wasn’t all that unusual, he’d had them since he was really little but usually his mom was with him. Surprisingly, Kara didn’t freak out, instead placing a hand on his back and guiding him to place his head between his knees, very calmly talking him through it, first helping him get his breathing regulated, then having him slowly start to name things around the room until everything came back into focus. She’d explained that she used to have them a lot when she was kid too, but that she’d learned how to recognize the symptoms and use mediation techniques to cut them off before they started.

Which was what he was hoping to do now. After one more deep breath, he made his way out of his room and down the hall.

As he entered the living room, he came to an abrupt stop, realizing this was going to be much worse than he’d expected. As he looked to the couch where his mom had already taken a seat, he saw she wasn’t alone, next to her, a good foot apart, sat Kara.

“Hi Kara.” He said softly, knowing that even if he was in trouble, his mom wouldn’t excuse it if he rudely ignored her.

“Hi Carter.” She replied, clearly as uncomfortable with this whole situation as he was.

“Take a seat Carter.” His mom said, her face a mask, leaving him unable to read just how mad she was. “I was on a conference call earlier today when I got a call from your school.” She started after he sat down. He understood now why Kara was there, if his mom had been on a conference call, then she would have been in her office when school called, probably still on speakerphone.

“At first, I was worried that something might have happened to you, so you can imagine my relief when your teacher told me she was just calling about the winter open house next week.”

He nodded to show her he was listening.

“Then she asked if Kara would be joining us because you have apparently been telling your classmates that she and I are dating.”  

He rubbed his hands on his pants, head pointed down at his lap not needing to look up to know that his mom was boring holes into him, waiting to see if he’d jump in.

When he didn’t, she continued. “Would you care to explain _why_ you’ve been lying about that?” She asked.

He’d considered playing dumb and pretending that he really did think what he was saying was true, Kara did spend a lot of time with them, and he was pretty certain they at least liked each other a little bit, but he knew he couldn’t be convincing enough to get away with it.

He was starting to feel that prickling in his fingertips along with the pull in his chest that told him he needed to calm down. He looked up and noticed Kara looking intently at him, when their eyes met, she closed hers and took a deep breath, a silent signal for him to do the same. He suddenly decided having her here was actually a good thing.

Once he’s calmed himself down, he started to explain, “Um, a few weeks ago, Kara picked me up from school.” He started, waiting for them to both nod, so he knew they remembered. “I was really happy, because we hadn’t seen each other for two whole weeks.” Kara smiled, he didn’t know it but it had been a busy time for Supergirl, which meant that Kara was oddly AWOL whenever he was at his mom’s office in that time.

“Well, the next day, some kids started picking on me, saying I shouldn’t have been so excited since you paid her to like me.” He didn’t say it to garner sympathy, it really was the truth, which is why Cat felt her anger breaking apart, instead being replaced with the guilt that always fills her chest when she is faced with a situation where she was unable to shield her sweet boy from the pain the world would inflict on him.

“I told them that you guys were dating and that Kara had decided to pick me up as a surprise.” He explained. “I just wanted them to stop teasing me, and I didn’t mean for it to get so out of control, but Andrew told his mom, who’s friends with Mrs. Patton in the office, and then suddenly the whole school knew.”

Cat was just about to speak up, ready to start in about rising above and the importance of the truth, even though all she really wanted to do was wrap him up in a tight hug and promise that nobody would ever hurt him again.

Before she had the chance though, Kara spoke softly, “You know what they said wasn’t true right?” She asked, taking this conversation in a completely different direction than Cat was going to. Part of her wanted to scold the girl for interrupting, she’d brought her here to make a point to her son, not to actually talk. A bigger part of her was curious about how Kara was going to handle this, especially when she saw her son’s eyes begin to water ever so slightly clearly telling her that he may actually believe there was some truth in the statement that Cat had to pay people to like him. Her heart was shattering all over again.

“The truth is, that your mom doesn’t pay me that much at all.” Kara repeated the words Cat had used to defend her to her mother. Her voice was light, a teasing tone, as though it were some kind of silly inside joke just between her and Carter.

It seemed to be working because Carter let out a light laugh around a small sniffle.

“And she certainly doesn’t pay me enough to do anything I don’t want to do. Including hanging out with you, which as far as I’m concerned is compensation for having to put up with her grumpy attitude all day.” It was a risky move, but Kara was 75% certain that Cat would let the comment pass so long as it soothed her son.

Carter laughed again, while trying to discreetly wipe at his face.

“You know,” Kara kept going, “A few months ago, a girl I didn’t even know said some really mean things about me to a lot of people, and I really wanted prove her wrong and make her see how hurtful she was being, but then I realized that she was going to say something mean regardless because she wanted somebody else to feel as small as she did.” She left out the part where the same girl almost died later that same day after her helicopter fell out of the sky and she got struck by lightning.

“Sometimes, ignoring it, and moving on is the best way to get back at a bully, because at the end of the day, they’re just intimidated because you already know who you are while they’re lost and hoping nobody else will realize it.”

Carter sighed and looked up, making a point to meet both sets of eyes, “I’m sorry that I lied about you guys dating.” He said sincerely.

It seemed to be the right thing to say because a few minutes later everything was back to normal. His mom had suggested ordering take-out, insisting that Kara stay because there would be way too much for just her and Carter, when in truth she wanted to do something to repay the younger woman for how well she’d handled the whole thing.

///

Later that same night, after Kara had left, Cat was in her room going through her nightly routine when Carter came in, walking over and laying down on her bed. She finished removing her make-up before getting up and joining him, happy when he rolled over and snuggled into her side. She had no idea what she did right in her life to end up with such a wonderful boy, knowing that most kids his age barely spoke to their parents in full sentences.

“Mom?”

“Mmhmm?” she hummed, running her fingers though his soft curls, remembering a time when his hair was so little and so blond that she’d have to cover his entire head in sunscreen before bringing him out into the sun.

“I want to ask you a question but I don’t want you to be upset.”

“You can always ask me anything.” She promised.

“Do you think…maybe…that you would ever want to date Kara?” His face was scrunched up and his voice was hesitant as though he was expecting she’d get angry.

She sighed, “I thought we’d talked about this.”

“Not because of the kids at school!” He swore, before slowing down, “I just-she’s really great, and I know you might not say it, but I can tell you like it when she’s around because you don’t roll your eyes as much and you smile more too even if you do try to cover it up.”

“I’ve honestly never considered it.” She told him, and she hadn’t, Kara was growing on her sure, but as a romantic possibility? The thought hadn’t crossed her mind until she’d spoken with Carter’s teacher earlier that day. “I’m really like having her as my assistant, and I’m glad that we can get along well but I don’t think it’s any more than that.”

“Okay.” He replied, “I just wanted to ask, because I know that I lied but I don’t want you to think you can’t trust me with that kind of stuff.”

She smiled down at him, “There’s nobody I trust more.”

///

She’d been trying to put the conversation out of her mind for some time now. Something in her son’s words had stirred up a peculiar mix of emotions in her. She hadn’t noticed herself acting any differently with Kara than she did with any of her other employees, and any differences that did exist she had chalked up to the fact that she spent more of her day with Kara than with them, there were bond to be some nuances to their relationship.

But now, she found herself evaluating every interaction they had, dissecting it, trying to figure out if there was something there. If Kara were anybody else, she’d consider just sleeping with her, get everything out of her system, and let things return to normal. Unfortunately, it was obvious that Kara was not the kind of person you could get wipe yourself rid of so easily, not to mention it would only make things at the office weird.

Which was not to say they weren’t already weird. The more she contemplated their relationship, the more she felt herself being pulled in different directions. Part of her would let Kara get close, wanting to know more, feel more, linger in the space between their interactions just a little longer. She could swear she saw Kara doing the same. Every once in a while, she’d catch her staring as though she was trying to solve the same puzzle.

Which was when she’d be pulled in the other direction, a voice in the back of her head, that sounded suspiciously like her mother’s, telling her she was being silly, to stop acting like a schoolgirl with a crush and get on with it. Which is when she’d find herself turning cold once more, relying on her cutting words to tip everything back into balance.

The problem was that the more these interactions happened, the worse things were becoming between she and Kara. It started small, she asked for an Advil and instead of producing it out of nowhere like usually did, having already anticipated her boss’s needs, Kara had to actually leave the room and go find one.

Then there’d come scheduling mistakes and lost paperwork, it seemed as though everything was falling into disarray. If it had been anybody else, she’d have fired them after the first day of it, but she knew that so much of it was her fault for throwing them so off balance.

She had no idea how to fix this, which is why, when Kara’s request for some time off came in, she didn’t hesitate in signing it. Maybe some time apart was what they needed for them to reboot.

///

Except it wasn’t. By Tuesday afternoon, Cat realized that at some point in the last four years since Kara had been hired, she’d become dependent on her.

There was a huge mix up, and half the departments were left scrambling, and she desperately needed to give them all some direction, but she couldn’t pull her thoughts together, what was it that she wanted to do? How did she want to fix this?

Even with as bad as things had been the last few months, she knew that if Kara had been here they’d be halfway to a solution by now. She’d have talked Cat off the edge, gotten her her favorite from one of the three lunch spots that were a go-to on a bad day. She’d have called everybody together, compiled a list of specific problems and then she would have helped Cat as she walked though solutions for the most important ones, while cross-referencing to ensure that solving one problem in a particular department didn’t make things worse for another department.

It took her until nearly 3am, but Cat was able to get everything mostly figured out, not only concerning the disaster that Wick had discovered was a result of one of the department heads having his calendar set-up wrong on his computer so that every time he had scheduled anything in the last month, he’d put it two days later than necessary causing a massive backlog which tickled down to the other departments. She’d also come to a conclusion regarding Kara, despite the early hour, she’d pulled out her phone and sent her assistant a message, before trying to figure out how to move things around on her own schedule so she could leave an hour early tomorrow.

///

When she rolled over at 7am on Wednesday morning, Kara groaned. So far being away from the office had been miserable. The first day was alright, she enjoyed being able to catch-up on a few things she’d been putting off. But by Tuesday afternoon she’d gotten bored. Nothing on Netflix appealed to her, there wasn’t anything at the D.E.O for her to do, and to make matters worse she was getting a play by play update from James on the disaster at CatCo. making her want to put on a dress and head in.

She wasn’t sure how she was going to kill another day, part of her wanted to go to work anyway, tell Cat she didn’t care if she paid her, she just needed to work, she needed _them_ to work. She really hoped her time away gave Cat a chance to figure out what she wanted, because the push-pull routine was really starting to give Kara whiplash.

If it weren’t for the fact that her job pretty much demanded that she be able to read her boss’s every facial tick and respond accordingly, she might have missed it, but Cat had a tell when she was attracted to someone that made it impossible for Kara to overlook. She’d seen it with Stamos, and all the other suitors that she’d scheduled Cat’s personal life around. So when she suddenly started to notice the same reaction to her own presence she’d started to think about that night with Carter all over again.

Despite how shocked she had been when she heard the rumor he’d started, she couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to be Cat Grant’s girlfriend. Could she imagine herself spending nights snuggled up on a couch in the penthouse tucked into Cat’s side? Was Cat the person she wanted to tell all about her adventures saving the city, and the pain of having such a heavy expectation on her shoulders? Did she want to have Sunday mornings where she demanded they stay in bed until their stomachs needed them to move?

The more and more she’d considered it the better and better it sounded, but every time she thought maybe she and Cat were on the same page, the other woman would suddenly pull away and close up. Kara wasn’t sure what was holding her back, but she decided after a particularly wish-washy week to put in for the time off, hoping that Cat would be able to get her feelings sorted by the time she got back the next Monday.

Apparently, she wouldn’t have to wait that long. As she reached over for her phone, she saw a message from the woman herself that had been sent at 4am that morning requesting her presence at the penthouse that night.

///

When she’d arrived, Cat had asked her to follow her out to the balcony, which that was much more impressive than the one at the office. Cat had already had dinner out there waiting for them, which she told Kara she’d made herself, one of the only recipes she trusted herself not to ruin.

“Why is it we always have our most important conversations out here?” Kara mused.

“We both like knowing that we have an easy escape.” Cat replied, to which Kara raised an eyebrow. “Well, I didn’t say it was my best option but it’s certainly my quickest.”

“You do realize that flinging yourself over the edge would pretty much guarantee my coming over after you right?”

“Hmm. I’ll keep that in mind.” She replied with a smirk, and for the first time since arriving, Kara had hope that this might go the way she wanted it to.

They’d finished their meals in silence and had been sitting, gazing out onto the city for close to thirty minutes before Kara spoke up.

“Are we going to talk about this?” She asked.

Cat sighed, she may have been the one to ask for this time, but now that she had it she wasn’t sure how to go about filling it up in the right way.

“Everything fell apart without you yesterday.” She admitted, “And it got me thinking about how the past few months have been, and I realized they weren’t much better.”

“Am I about to get fired?” Kara asked, “Because I really thought this was going somewhere else entirely.

“Don’t tempt me, and don’t interrupt.” Cat said and only continued when Kara had made a fake zipping motion over her lips. “I realized yesterday, that I would rather be in the middle of a complete disaster with you by my side than to have a normal day without you.”

Kara couldn’t help the smile that came to her face at the words, it wasn’t often that she’d be given such a blatant compliment from her boss.

“I also recognize that I’ve made things more difficult in the last few months, that I’ve given you mixed signals, but I’ve come to a decision that I hope you’re agreeable to.”

Kara gave her a look that told her to keep going.

“I would like us to try seeing each other outside of the office, on a trial basis. We take a month, test it out and if at the end of it things are going well then we make it official, if not then we know and move on.”

“That’s very diplomatic of you.” Kara replied.

“Would you prefer the tension releasing one-night-stand?” Cat questioned.

Kara was glad that the sun had already set so her blush wasn’t as noticeable, though she couldn’t help but licking her lips at the thought. “One month?” Kara asked.

“One month.” Cat replied.

“And then we make a decision?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Kara agreed.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”


	2. Chapter 2

Their first date had been an unquantifiable disaster. It had been stunted and awkward, in a restaurant with silverware so abundant that she was at a loss about what half of it was supposed to be used for. Why there was a need for both a fish fork and a seafood fork she wasn’t sure, because she usually only changed forks between dinner and dessert, so the fact that there were at least four of them in front on her was just baffling.

She knew she wasn’t the only one feeling out of place because she could see the downward twitch in Cat’s lips every time the waiter approached the table to ask how they were enjoying themselves and every time they settled into an uncomfortable silence she’d turn her head and glare at this odd looking spoon as if she too were as concerned as Kara about the silverware situation.

If it had been anybody else, Kara would be tempted to call for the check and go somewhere different since they were both so clearly uncomfortable but this was Cat Grant, her boss, who was the most powerful woman in the city if not this side of the country so really who was Kara to start calling the shots…which is when she realized this was part of the problem.

The whole night, Kara had been thinking of the woman across from her as the woman she worked for and not as her date. She turned to observe Cat more closely with this new information in mind. She was trying so hard to make everything work, pretending that nothing was unusual, that things were going well. Liar.

“Tell me about your time at Barnard.” Cat said, looking to meet her eye, and that’s what finally set Kara off because clearly Cat had taken the time to reread her work file before coming. Before she knew what was happening she was laughing like an insane person because really this was so bizarre.

“Kiera!” Cat hissed, eyes darting toward the other tables who had begun to notice the young woman’s odd behavior.

It only set Kara off more, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She gasped out between breaths, “I just- this is just so ridiculous” she started before dissolving into another fit of giggles, “and why are there so many forks?!”

Cat plastered on a fake smile, as though she too were in on the joke and turned toward the onlookers, “It’s okay, really, she’s probably just having an aneurysm.” She assured them, reaching her foot across to give Kara a swift kick in the shin.

Finally, Kara seemed jostled out of her haze, she stood up from the table and extended her hand toward Cat. “C’mon.” She said.

“C’mon? C’mon where?” She hissed, still directing her fake smile to the others around them.

“We’re leaving.” Kara said.

“We’re in the middle of dinner.” She ground out, though truthfully she really didn’t want to be there anymore, between the disaster that had been happening since they’d arrived and Kara’s little outburst, she wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for the next month.

“Just trust me.” Kara said.

Cat sighed, dropping enough money on the table to cover three of their meals, before following Kara out.

“What the _hell_ was that?!” She demanded as soon as their feet hit the sidewalk.

Kara for the first time since standing from the table, wondered if she was making the wrong move here, but decided to stay fast despite the growing nervousness, that left her hand fidgeting as she tried to explain. “Cat, that was a disaster.” She said, one arm going out to gesture toward the restaurant.

“Yes, because you have the self-control of a potty-training toddler!”

“Before that.” Kara insisted, “It was stunted and uncomfortable.”

“So what? You’re backing out?” she asked, “I have to say Kiera, I never took you for a quitter.”

“I’m not backing out.” Kara sighed, “I still want to give this a chance, just-just not like that.”

“Well then what do you suggest?”

“A change of venue.” Kara said with a smile, already formulating a plan in her head.

“Well, my driver won’t be able to get here for at least twenty minutes.” Cat was clearly becoming irritated that they’d left the restaurant.

“No driver.” Kara said, reaching out for Cat’s hand and pulling toward an alley down the street.

“Oh how wonderful, I was really hoping this night would end in us being brutally murdered.” Cat muttered sarcastically, but paused when Kara began to strip down. “I refuse to have sex in an alley like some cheap prostitute!”

“What?!” Kara exclaimed, turning to reveal her suit under her clothes.

“Have you been wearing that the whole time?”

“Well, I can’t fly in my street clothes, most people aren’t as smart as _you_ but I think that that’d still tip a few of them off.” Kara explained, reaching her hand out to Cat, who looked at it as though the appendage had personally offended her.

“You want to fly?” Cat asked.

“Yes?” Kara asked, “I thought you’d actually be excited about that, you’ve been so curious, and now is as good as a time as any.”

“I suppose.” Cat sighed and took a step forward, allowing Kara to pull her close. She wouldn’t admit it, but since the whole thing with her car, she was a little hesitant about the flying. Knowing there was nothing she’d be able to do once they were up there was a little more than disconcerting.

“Ready?” Kara asked softly.

“Yes, yes, get on with it.” Cat said disinterestedly.

 Cat had kept her eyes shut tight, her hands gripping at Kara’s back in a way that would probably hurt her if she was human, only letting go when she was sure her feet were once again resting on a solid surface. She opened her eyes and glanced around, scowling when she realized they were on her balcony at CatCo. headquarters.

“You brought us back to the office? This is supposed to be a date not a business meeting!”

Kara stepped forward and pulled the door open, gesturing for Cat to go into the office, following closely behind. “I thought we could both use a little bit of our comfort zone.” She explained, already pulling her clothes back on, “This seems to be the only place we can have a normal conversation, it seemed like a good start.”

“Perhaps I was wrong to propose this whole thing.” Cat said dejectedly as she let herself fall back onto her couch.

Kara walked over to the bar to pour them each a drink, before grabbing her phone and placing an order with the Italian place down the street that they both liked. She strolled back to where Cat was sitting, handing her her drink and setting her own down on the coaster on the table. She leaned down, and slipped Cat’s heels off her feet, knowing they couldn’t be comfortable, before taking a seat pulling Cat’s feet with her, into her lap.

“You weren’t wrong.” Kara promised as she began to smooth her hands over Cat’s calves, rubbing out the tense knots. She wasn’t sure where the burst of confidence she was feeling had come from, but Cat finally seemed to be relaxing so she embraced it, deciding that if anybody happened to come in and see them, she could just say Cat was working off a hangover.

“Maybe the execution was a little off, that restaurant was a little much…” Kara started but Cat cut her off.

“That’s where I always go on a first date, not that I’ll be likely to return after your little episode.”

Kara scrunched her face up sheepishly, but continued. “Maybe that was the problem, we’ve been treating this like a first date, but I already know everything about you that I’d usually ask about on a first date, and you know things about me that I probably wouldn’t tell anybody else for quite some time.”

“What do you suggest then?” Cat asked feigning something akin to disinterest, which Kara saw right through it, noticing the way she was nervously running her thumb along the edge of her nails.

“We need to take some of the pressure off, find some common ground, stop acting like this is some end-all-be-all thing. It will work or it won’t, but if we’re anxious about if failing the whole time then we’ll never get anywhere.”

“Where do we start then?” Cat inquired.

“We start with a meal that only requires the normal amount of eating utensils.” She said when she felt her phone chime, letting her know the delivery man was on his way up. She was happy to see a small smile grace Cat’s lips.

The night started to look up from there, the conversation flowing more naturally, the office acting as a comfort to both of them. To anybody looking in, they would probably just assume the two were working late, but Kara was pleasantly surprised that work hadn’t come up since they’d gotten there.

///

It was decided that Kara would come over to the penthouse every Tuesday for dinner with Cat and Carter, and that Thursdays when Carter was with his father would be their date night, the plans to which would have to be approved by each of them by lunch on Wednesday. They decided that they would play the weekends by ear, and that any and all interactions at the office would maintain strictly professional from that point on.

It was still a little bumpy, but in the normal way that all new relationships were. Kara actually had told Cat all about her time at Barnard, and was very intrigued about Cat’s own experiences at Wellesley.

Cat was getting a little more used to flying, although she still preferred her usual car service, claiming that it would be confusing to the public if she was seen gallivanting around with Supergirl all the time, which Kara didn’t really buy since they’d yet to be spotted together, but she was happy to schedule everything through Christopher, Cat’s usual driver, anyway.

///

They’d hit their first real snag about three weeks in. They were still at the office working late, when Cat looked out of the glass doors to her right to see a strange woman hovering in the same spot Supergirl usually did, giving her a curious look.

“Kara…” She drew out, getting the girl’s attention which had been focused on the weekly reports from the heads of each department that Cat had demanded since the mix up almost a month ago. She looked up first at Cat, the out the glass doors where Cat’s gaze was still focused.

Upon seeing Astra, she sprung to her feet, immediately ensuring that Cat was behind her in case her aunt tried something. Astra had used the attack at Lord Industries to escape a few months ago. They hadn’t been able to track her, but Kara and Alex both suspected that she was planning something, having been quiet for so long.

Noticing that she had her niece’s attention, she touched down and let herself into the office, trying her best to seem as non-threatening as possible.

Kara had already removed her glasses, and was backing herself up closer to Cat, wanting to make sure she completely shielded her from whatever Astra would throw at them.

“Kara.” Astra breathed out, saying her name like it was the most precious word in her vocabulary; anybody who didn’t know better might take it for a sweet family reunion.

“What are you doing here?” Kara demanded, her voice containing an authority that Cat had yet to hear from her when she wasn’t wearing her suit.

“I wanted to talk to you, I thought perhaps we would be able to keep things amicable with your friend present.” She gestured to Cat, drawing out the word ‘friend’ as though she knew it wasn’t the appropriate descriptor for their relationship. “I was wondering if you’d given any thought to my offer.”

“No.” Kara said firmly.

“Everything I told you was the truth.” She responded, and Cat’s gaze finally pulled away to take in Kara, she had suddenly recognized this woman as the same one who’d been waiting for Kara outside her office months earlier, and wondered what the hell was going on.

“I followed up on the information you gave me.” She affirmed, she could feel Cat’s eyes on her but kept her own locked onto Astra.

“What else do you need from me to convince you?”

“Nothing.” Kara stood firm, “There is nothing you could say that would change my mind.”

Astra looked genuinely confused. “Do you not understand?” Her voice was soft, loving, as though she were talking to a child, “I’ve done all of it for _you_.”

Cat could feel Kara beginning to tremble in front of her, she was trying to stay strong, but clearly this woman was getting to her.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m Cat Grant.” Cat said, moving around Kara and gesturing toward the seating area, as though she really were glad to be meeting her.

“Cat!” Kara exclaimed, and moved to pull her back, but Cat simply walked toward the couches and motioned for Astra to sit across from her.

Kara stayed standing, next to the coffee table, just slightly in front of Cat, ready to intervene. She was glad Cat chose the couch that faced toward the balcony so she could see any other company that might approach.

Cat took in the woman in front of her, there was clearly a resemblance, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. “Kara hasn’t mentioned you before.” She started, hoping to draw Astra’s attention to her.

“We’ve not been on the best terms,” Astra supplied, “I’ve been hoping to change that but as I’m sure you know, my niece is very stubborn.”

“That she is.” Cat said, glad to finally have an answer about the relation between the two, seeing Kara’s fists balling up, she reached out, taking Kara’s hand and pulling her down to sit, Kara resisted at first but with another tug she settled on the arm of the sofa. Cat reached around and settled a hand on her lower back, running her fingertips up and down in an attempt to keep her calm.

“The two of you are close.” Astra said in a voice which told Kara it wasn’t news to her.

“Have you been watching me?” Kara finally spoke again.

“I needed to know that you’re safe.” Astra explained.

“The only person who’s been threatening my safety has been you.” Kara threw back, coming to stand again. Cat could tell she was quickly losing control, and she wondered what had happened between the two before this.

Astra stood too, looking like she wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull Kara close to her. “I’m so sorry that it’s gotten to this point, I never intended for you-”

“Your intention!” Kara spit out, “All you’ve done is cause hurt and destruction, I don’t care what you intended!”

To her surprise, Astra just smiled, her eyes fluttering shut briefly. “You are so much like her.” She finally breathed out. “But so much better.”

The words deflated Kara instantly, she suddenly looked like a lost little girl; Cat had seen her frazzled, she’d seen her nervous and uncertain, but she’d never seen her look so broken.

“Don’t…” Kara’s voice was so small.

“She would be so proud of you. _I_ am so proud of you.” She moved closer to Kara, reaching a hand out to brush a wisp of her hair back, and Cat was surprised to see that she didn’t move away from the contact. When Kara didn’t resist, Astra moved and pulled her in for a tight hug, cradling her head and breathing her in.

If it weren’t for the fact that she clearly adored Kara, Cat would have been tempted to try and pull them apart. After a long moment, Astra pulled back and started moving toward the doors again.

“No matter what comes next, I will do everything I can to make sure you stay safe.” She promised, “I love you.”

And then she said something else, it sounded like just a single word, Cat couldn’t understand it at all, but it was obvious by Kara’s reaction that she did, a haunted and yet reverent look appeared on her face, and she stayed rooted in her spot for just a moment too long after her aunt had finally taken off.

Cat was about to reach out to her, pull her in for a hug of her own, when Kara finally snapped out of it. Immediately she started to strip down for her suit, pulling her phone out, quickly tapping a few buttons before bringing to her ear.

“Alex?” She said, “I just saw Astra, I managed to get a tracker on her, but I don’t know how long it’ll be before she notices, can you pull up her location and send a team to meet us?” The hug she allowed suddenly made more sense.

With barely a glance back, she was up and over the balcony, leaving Cat to wonder what the hell just happened.

///

Cat was moving around the living room, making sure everything was set up how she wanted it, Kara was set to be there any moment.

They hadn’t had much of a chance to talk since the confrontation with Astra. Kara had been avoiding her. She’d come to dinner on Tuesday but had used Carter as a buffer the entire time, as soon has he had left the table to go take a shower before bed, she’d come up with a lame excuse to leave.

She’d also cancelled on their Thursday date night, claiming that Supergirl was needed by the _FBI_ , though Cat did see something about a suspicious bridge collapse just outside of the city, so she supposed that could have been the truth.

Now it was Friday night, a particular Friday night that she’d been planning for the last week, since right before Supergirl’s aunt had come to visit.

It was originally meant to be a romantic get-away of sorts. She had called ahead, personally, to make sure the beach house was in order, that the fridge was stocked and everything cleaned. She wanted it all to be flawless for their weekend together, just the two of them.

They had yet to move beyond a few heated make-out sessions and since the end of their month had fallen on Wednesday, she thought it’d be the perfect time for them to take the next step. She had known since a week in that she wanted this to continue once this month was over, and up until Monday night, she’d was certain that Kara felt the same.

Cat had never seen her so stoic and standoffish, even in the first week after being hired, she had been a bubbling flurry of perk and happiness. If it weren’t for the fact that she was also incredibly efficient, Cat would have fired her after two days.

She had been shocked when Kara had nodded when she asked if they were still on for tonight. She’d expected another excuse about how Supergirl was needed somewhere or how she’d finally decided to take Cat’s advice and had to stay home to condition her hair.

Cat had just finished getting the fireplace started and was moving toward the kitchen to check that the wine was chilled. She had already opened the glass paneling that ran across the wall facing the water. It really was a spectacular view, and with no neighbors for two miles in each direction, it would give them the privacy she wanted to talk. When she turned back from the wine fridge, bottle in hand, she saw Kara standing against the railing watching her. She jumped a little, not having heard her touch down.

“Sorry,” Kara mumbled, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Cat just gave her small glare, and waited for her heartrate to return to normal. She reached for the wine to pour out two glasses. When she looked up, Kara hadn’t moved an inch. They stood and looked at each other for a long moment, before Cat picked up the glasses and walked into the living room, taking a seat in the armchair that gave her a view of the ocean, leaving the couch for Kara, who finally moved from her spot to take a seat.

After a few more moments of silence, Cat finally started, “Are we going to talk about this?” She wondered if Kara would notice that she was echoing her own words from a month ago back at her.

“I don’t even know where to start.” Kara admitted, she rested her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. It was obvious that this past week had taken a toll on her.

“The reason you’ve been avoiding me for the last week?” Cat suggested. A part of her wanted to drop the whole thing, wrap Kara up, tell her all was forgiven, and just move on. But she knew this was a discussion they’d been putting off, and if they really wanted to start something serious, they needed to lay it all out.

“I haven-” Kara had begun to deny, but realized it was a copout and also pretty insulting, of course Cat had picked up on her absence. “I’m sorry.” She said instead. “After what happened Monday night…” She trailed off, that same haunted look that’d been in her eyes as her aunt flew away was back.

“Did you find her?” Cat asked, she’d heard Kara say that she’d slipped a tracker on her but she never received an update.

“No.” Kara told her. “We had her for a few miles, but she vanished again. Alex is working on it, they’re hoping that they can use those first few miles to create a flight pattern that can help them narrow down their search area.”

“Alex, your sister?” Cat asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She’d only met the woman once but one look at her screamed ‘federal agent’.

Kara nodded, “She’s on the team of agents that I work with.”

Cat sighed, so far this was like pulling teeth. She was used to Kara being the open one in their relationship. “Monday night with your Aunt-”

“That shouldn’t have happened, she shouldn’t have been that close to you. I’m sorry.” Kara cut in. “It’s why I’ve been thinking-”

“No.” This time Cat cut her off, “You’re not going do that thing where you’re all heroic and self-sacrificing. You don’t get to use _that_ as an excuse to not do _this_.”

“She used you as a tool to manipulate me! She could have hurt you, killed you!” Kara was on her feet now, pacing.

“She wouldn’t have hurt me.” Cat said simply, knowing it was the truth. “She just wanted a chance to talk to you, and she knew if I was there, you wouldn’t turn it into a battle.”

Kara turned to look at her, “You don’t know that. You don’t know what she’s capable of, what she’s done.”

If she was being honest, Cat was burning with questions, the reporter in her wanting to know everything, but she knew now wasn’t the time. Instead she tried to get Kara to see reason. “I know that she loves you. She may be dangerous, but the way she was looking at you…she wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

 Kara was shaking her head, not wanting to believe the words, it was so much easier when she could bottle up all of her rage and hate and direct it toward Astra and Non, not wanting to consider the possibility that maybe Astra was right about her mother.

“She said something to you before she left, I didn’t understand it, but you did.” Cat continued, wondering if it was the wrong thing to say because Kara looked like she was about to have a meltdown any minute, and Cat really wasn’t the best when it came to comforting people, usually saving that part of herself for her son.

“It was a name. A nickname that my mother used to call me.” Kara explained, her head pointed at the floor. “She wanted to throw me off balance, she knows it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it, since I’ve heard anything in my native language.”

“She wanted to comfort you,” Cat continued to insist, “I may not know about everything that happened before you came here, but the look in her eyes, that can’t be faked.”

“Why are you trying to defend her?” Kara finally asked.

“I’m not, she seems horrible, that streak in her hair screams mid-life crisis.” Cat rolled her eyes to show Kara how unimpressed she was with it all. “I just don’t want you to think that she can scare you away from having a relationship with me.”

“There are a lot of dangerous people that would do anything it took to hurt me, people who don’t love me like you claim she does.”

“You say that as if I don’t have any enemies; I’m pretty sure Lois put anti-freeze in my coffee the last time we saw each other. Honestly, I’m probably safer with you around than I was before.”

Kara smiled despite herself.

“We said we would reevaluate this arrangement after a month, it has now been a month and three days. If you don’t want this to go any further, just say so,” Cat told her, “but if you’re just afraid that somebody, someday might try to hurt me then take off your pants because we only have two days here and I wasn’t planning on using them to talk.”

Kara narrowed her eyes at Cat. She still wasn’t sure she felt safe after Astra had used their relationship to get to Kara, but she also knew that Cat didn’t care. She sighed, mind made up.

Kara took off her pants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure that I'm like the ending, if felt a little rushed, but I rewrote it four or five times and nothing felt right so...
> 
> Also, if you're curious, this was the beach house I was using as reference, I imagined a little more Cat Grant style, but the basic floorplan felt right. 
> 
> http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/31885-Circle-Dr-Laguna-Beach-CA-92651/25575257_zpid/

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I'm not sure I really like it all that much, but I was just having a hard time connecting to this one. I'm hoping the next chapter will be a little more my speed. 
> 
> Let me know whatcha think.


End file.
